Qantas Airways

Melbourne to Darwin and Alice Springs to Melbourne on B737s. Both flights were smooth and pleasant. Bag drop at Melbourne and check-in at Alice Springs (no check-in kiosks) were easy. Due to strong winds which affected the incoming plane the Alice Springs to Melbourne flight operated about an hour late. On the 4½ hour flight to Darwin a pleasant cold breakfast was served (yoghurt muesli etc) and just before landing a couple of biscuits and mineral water. On the return flight from Alice Springs my vegetarian roll looked better than the squishy meat pies and sauce served to the other passengers. The seats were comfortable enough for the flight sectors. The second flight was booked using Emirates frequent flyer points. Unlike a previous experience there was no problem checking in online via the Qantas (not Emirates) website 24 hrs beforehand.

We travelled to Melbourne from Dubai on QF110 in economy last month. I have flown Qantas for forty years and each time I fly the seats are more cramped and the service is reduced. Never again. My seat 67B would suit a child of 12y or younger. My knees came to within 5cm of the seat in front of me and when the girl in front lowered her seat it was right in my face. I could not stand up to get out of the seat but had to crawl across the seats to get out. I am 70 years old so this distressed me and I could not face 13 hours in such a cramped situation. The staff were kind and as the plane was not full (am I surprised!) my partner agreed to move to another seat freeing up the three seats for me and allowing me to lie down. We had already flown 7 hours from Madrid with a 2hr stop over in Dubai so were very tired. I slept for a few hours on the mini seats but the armrests don't completely disappear so it was very uncomfortable. We had 2 meals in 13 hours all forgettable. However the wine helped. I am not heartless and did swap places with my partner to allow him to lie down too for a while.

QF28 Santiago to Sydney in business. The seat was very very comfortable the service was exceptional and the main course was delicious although not so the rather boring pumpkin empanadas that I chose for starter. Qantas flight attendants are some of the most attentive and professional I have come across. The amenity kit was nice and included what one would expect. The printed menu was a bit too casual and three were left for me which was a bit confusing because they were all different. It took me a while to realise (small letters which I find hard to read) that two were from the previous Sydney to Santiago and Santiago to Rio legs (on 11 June the Rio service was a special for the World Cup). Qantas certainly are well above the average and are different in many ways from other airlines. They try to be so different that they do not have a sign for the Business or First classes check in areas in Australia but instead there is just one in black that says Service. This is annoying and idiotic. I went the length of Sydney domestic terminal trying to find the Business class check in area which of course I did not find and was directed to the 'Service' area by a Qantas employee.

MEL-SYD-SCL. First time with Qantas and liked it a lot. Fast check in great inflight service. Great food with lots of wine. Unusual and very tasty mid flight snack. Comfortable seats and enough legroom. I'll be using them again.

Flew QF702 MEL to Cairns and QF703 Cairns to MEL. The two flights were as different as chalk and cheese. Flight up was not enjoyable at all. The food was an inedible tasteless disappointment with no choice as to what you would like. Lucky we brought some snacks from home! No seatback IFE only a shared boring movie on a screen I could not even see. Come on Qantas entertainment is available on Jetstar for a cost but who cares. How can you expect people to just sit there for 3.5 hours. The small shared screens are an absolute joke. Please either use newer planes with IFE flights 3+ hours or give out ipads Q streaming as is done on the 767. Flight back was on the new VH-XZO with IFE and the food was a lot better and with choice this time. What a difference it was like flying a completely different airline. I really hope these inconsistencies are dealt with. I have always been a fan of our national carrier but why pay more if you are getting less then budget airlines are offering. Will recommend mainly on the basis of safety and punctuality.

Singapore to Brisbane. Old 747 Showing wear and tear. Seats very tight no leg room. Staff not friendly and very slow to serve food. No water run during the 7 hours.

JFK-SYD via LAX. Following my review SYD-DFW I cannot believe Qantas sends an old 747 to New York. Its a 20 hour flight from JFK to SYD via LAX. The seats are like timber and are surprisingly narrow the leg room is minimal entertainment system is terrible and very small screen though food was fine I couldn't wait to get off that flight. Next time I'm flying from JFK I'll just connect to Dallas and fly with Qantas from there Qantas should be ashamed they send such an old 747 to JFK. Why is there no A380 or 747 similar to the Dallas flight.

Flew Melbourne to London return (QF 9/10) in business row 12 both ways (A380). Service on the Dubai - London legs both ways from the London based crews was absolutely superb. Professional friendly slick. I would fly Qantas every single time without hesitation if this was the standard. Unfortunately the service from the Australian crews on the Melbourne - Dubai legs both ways was kind of amateurish. Hot towels given out to one side of the cabin and not the other; crews coming through and starting to deliver pyjamas water and amenities kit without noticing that this had already been done; some customers receiving drink orders before dinner while others did not. The list goes on. Not earth shattering but disappointing. Row 12 is excellent with very few distractions or noise. The First lounge at Melbourne airport is a superb experience while the Dubai and London equivalents are fine. The chauffeur service in both Melbourne and London was excellent.

SYD-DFW JFK-SYD (Economy). 15 hour flight to Dallas was quite possibly the best flight I have been on. The seats in Economy class on the 747 were excellent excellent legroom entertainment was brilliant food and service excellent. I will more than likely when flying to Mexico or East Coast use Qantas and fly via Dallas. Please see next Review for JFK-SYD.

QF 568 PER-SYD June 17 2014. Boarding was easy. The very seat comfortable good leg room. The food was fine. An overnight flight it was served in a sack of wrapped snacks with juice and fruit. I liked the fact the menu keeps changing and isn't the same year in year out. Drinks were served again before landing. Staff were fine.